Wooden article and process of making the same



G. MORANDI. WOODEN ARTICLE AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME. APPLICATION FILED JULY 1, 1920.

1,385,387. Patented July 26, 1921.

GIUSEPPE MORANDI, OF FLORENCE, ITALY.

'WOODEN ARTICLE AN D PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME.

" Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 26, 1921.

Application filed July 1, 1920. Serial No. 393,473.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Gmsnrrn MORANDI, subject of the King of Italy, residing at Florence, Toscana, Italy, have invented new and useful Improvements in Wooden Articles and Processes of Making the Same, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to the utilization of compensated wood (ply-wood) for the construction from a solid block, of articles designed for industrial and decorative purposes, such as chairs in general. or other similar furniture, of the ordinary description, or carved, picture-frames, etc. or even driving pulleys, etc.

The invention consists essentially in the fact of having combined the use of compensated wood (plywood) with the adoption of curved outlines in the construction of a solid body from which objects which are, on account of the purpose for which they are designed, subjected to unusual strain. In accordance with this system, a few pieces of wood are taken from various layers of com pensated wood, previously prepared and curved into the required outline, which pieces, when suitably joined together, form the completed object.

The objects thus constructed acquire great solidity inasmuch as the system allows of the extension of the advantages of compensated wood (ply wood) to the whole of the frame of the obj ectin question; thus the virtue of compensated wood (ply wood) 2'. e. that of not being movable in any direction, and therefore-of being able to withstand tensile or compressive strain in all directions, is imparted to the whole of the object constructed, throughout.

The mode of construction as devised enables the production of objects that are more complex than would be possible when using non compensated wood. Moreover, with my system, the number of parts necessary to form the completed article is reduced, from which method of construction it will be evi dent that additional solidity is imparted to such article. I

In the accompanying drawing, the form of construction given, by way of example, is that of one of the articles most suited to the system, namely, a chair, The latter should, in fact, be light and solid, elegant and curved in outline at various parts, in order that the required form may be attained,

In said drawing, Figure 1 shows a side view of the completed chair, Fig. 2, is a plan view thereof. Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating three members formed in accordance with this invention and adapted for the construction of a chair similarto that shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a pers jectivc view illustrating a solid body made up of the members shown in Fig. 3 and a side frame sawed from such solid body. In the drawing the most important requirement is at once made evident, viz: that the entire flank or side frameaiof the chair is formed ofa single piece suitably curved in outline, composed of several strips of wood, superposed. The back b and the cross-bar -c connecting the'two side frames aare also formed of compensated or ply wood curved in outline as are likewise the two pieces deserving to unite the parts of the chair into a whole.

The method of procedure is as follows: For the construction of a chair similar to that shown in Fig. 1, a plurality of layers of wood of the desired thickness are secured together by means of glue, casein or any other adhesive substance, and are bent into the desired shape in any suitable bending machine. For the formation of the frame of a chair such as that illustrated, three forms of varying configuration are required, which forms are illustrated at A, B, and (1, respectively, in Fig. 3. As soon as the units A, B, and C have been so formed and the glue has become hardened, the units are secured together, again preferably by means of glue as shown in Fig. 4, and may be held together until the glue has set by means of any suitable mechanism. It will thus be seen that a solid block having the general form of a chair and made up of so-called compensated wood is obtained. This block is then sawed, for instance along the lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, thus producing a number of side frames X for the formation of chairs. The seat frame 6 and the lower stay frame 03, as well as the back member I) and the filling member 0, may be formed of layers of wood secured together in the same manner and bent or formed to suit its particular use, and secured to the frame member a in any suitable manner.

Fromthe foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a method by means of which Chairs may be constructed in large quantities with great facility, and that such chairs, While possessed of great solidity and strength, Will be comparatively light, and that by reason of this construction the. grain of the wood runs the proper way at every point of strain, and is not liable to shift.

From the chair as represented in the accompanying drawing, the solidity derived from the mode of construction as devised will be manifest, owing to the fact that the two flanks constituting the essential parts of the chair, are formed out of a single piece, which is not possible when the usual modes of construction are adopted.

While I have described herein the improved method of construction as particularly adapted to chairs, it is to be understood that the same method may be employed in theconstruction of other articles of wood, such for instance as sofas, tables, beds, transmission pulleys, as Well as any other wooden article adapted for domestic or industrial purposes.

Claims z 1. The herein described process of constructing wooden articles, which consists in gluing together a plurality of layers of wood and bending the same into a plurality of units, securing said units together to form a single block having the general configuration of the finished atricle, and sawing said assembled block into a plurality of frame members.

2. A side frame for a chair, comprising a plurality of units each formed of thin layers of wood secured together, said side frame having the general contour of the chair.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

GIUSEPPE MORANDI.

\Vinesses:

C. B. MANNUCCI, ISABELLE KIRCH. 

